Why Gordon Ramsay Says You Should Add Extra Seats To Special Restaurant Reservations

Gordon Ramsay, a chef to many and a friend to all, has been in the restaurant game a long time. While perhaps best known for barking at wannabe cooks on "Hell's Kitchen," or as the gruff-but-loveable Scottish softie on "MasterChef," Ramsay actually began his career in cuisine many moons ago. As a 20-year-old, Ramsay worked under Marco Pierre White in the kitchen of Harvey's in London before doing a French tour de kitchens in the 1990s (via Britannica). By 1993, he was head chef at Aubergine back in England, bringing the restaurant two Michelin stars in the three years that followed. When Ramsay opened his own restaurant (the creatively named Gordon Ramsay) in 1998, it was to no one's surprise when the establishment garnered three Michelin stars and was rated one of the best restaurants in the world.

So, you could say your friendly neighborhood master chef knows a thing or two about the restaurant biz. And Ramsay has a little neighborly advice for you: Book an extra seat when reserving a romantic table for two. Ramsay told the Daily Mail that if you want to avoid "getting stuck in the corner like a doorstop," make your reservation on that special evening out for three, even if there are only two of you. Brilliant nugget of wisdom? Ramsay's got a million of 'em. That's right — there's more where that came from.

"When [restaurants] list ten specials," Ramsay told the Daily Mail, "that's not special." And furthermore, don't be afraid of sommeliers! "We have a fear about talking to sommeliers because you think you're going to be ripped off," the chef explained. Ramsay went on to say that, if you can push past the fear, ask for a great glass (or bottle) of wine, and tell your sommelier what you are willing to spend, as anyone worth their salt will deliver.

And Ramsay doesn't just spill the tea on wine in his Daily Mail interview; he scatters warnings like lemon zest throughout a diatribe on restaurant bragging rights. "When [restaurants] turn around and tell me it is the 'famous red lasagne,' who made it famous?" He told customers to be wary of words like "famous," "wicked," and "best-in-the-country," because after all, said Ramsay, "Who said that? Who named that?"

In terminology you should be using, Ramsay suggested asking for the "bin-end list" when looking for a bottle of wine; these will be bottles that haven't sold as well, or have a defect with the label, or are of a vintage that will soon be out of the rotation. In other words, the bin-end list will get you the most reasonably priced bottles of wine, and might be something you wouldn't otherwise have tried. Don't be nervous; channel your inner Ramsay and bargain bin-end shop with boldness!